A wide variety of sampling devices or systems which permit the withdrawal of samples from a production or processing equipment line are known. Moreover, dependent upon the materials being made or processed, that is, whether they are hazardous materials or innocuous materials, various devices have been developed for withdrawing samples from a pipe, which is part of the production line, or from other elements of a production line. Moreover, such sampling systems, devices or equipment vary greatly with respect to their complexity, as well as their particular construction, in order to prevent any leakage to the external environment which results not only in loss of materials and the need for moping up operations, as well as preventing contamination of process or manufacturing operators and the external environment.
Examples of such systems, devices and the like include U.S. Pat. No., 3,321,977 issued May 30, 1967, to Topham. It discloses a sample injection valve having a chamber with an inlet port and an outlet port, as well as a port to permit material to be expelled from a chamber. Another example of a fluid sampler is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,623 issued Dec. 24, 1968 to Andrasko. It discloses a sampler for removing a fluid sample from a closed conduit. It employs a tubular bushing that is permanently installed transverse to the conduit. Another example of a sampler is U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,499 issued Feb. 1, 1972, to Saint-Andre, discloses a device for taking samples of fluid from a hydraulic circuit while operating under pressure. The device comprises a hollow body having a chamber connected into the circuit through a very small opening that is normally closed by a point at the end of a spring-pressed plunger slidable in the chamber and having near the point lateral channels which lead into a central longitudinal channel through which the sample is discharged when the plunger is pulled down against its spring in order to open the opening. This device also includes a controlled-leakage passage which prevents accumulation of solid particles, thus keeping the device clean and preventing contamination of subsequent samples.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,543 issued Jul. 10, 1984 to Mieth, discloses a cleanable sampling valve which may be incorporated into the product line of a manufacturing equipment arrangement. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,452 issued Apr. 8, 1986 to Masson discloses a device for taking a liquid from a conduit which contains the liquid or for injecting a liquid into the conduit. Patentee discloses a valve mounted on a conduit from which a sample of liquid which flows along the conduit may be withdrawn or material may be injected into the conduit. Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,453 issued Apr. 8, 1986 to Taylor, discloses a gear case oil sampling device for use with a gear case which contains a quantity of lubricating oil. An axially bored access plug is connected to the gear case. The plug includes an oil tube immersed in the lubricating oil when the gear system is idle. An air core valve normally closes the plug bore. In this device, an oil sample container is disposed slidably around a piston for longitudinal movement of the container relative to the piston and an axially bored piston rod projects out of the container open end and is connectable with the access plug in a plug valve opening manner to provide fluid communication between the container and the gear case oil. Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,571 issued Dec. 2, 1986 to Slater, discloses a grab sampler for liquids and especially for crude oil flowing through pipelines. The sampler is provided with a set of concentric tubular members including an outer body, an inlet and outlet; and a sleeve and hollow piston, respectively axially slideable within the body and sleeve. The piston is provided with an internal and non-return valve at its base. The sleeve, piston base and body are capable of defining a sample chamber so as to trap a sample of liquid flowing through the pipeline. Application of pressure on the piston displaces the trapped sample through the non-return valve to the inside of the piston and is recovered therefrom by sample removal means.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,507 issued Jul. 28, 1987 to Terrell, discloses an apparatus for removing a sample from a material conveying conduit and delivering the sample to a remote testing or other deposit location without any manual handling of the sample. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No., 5,129,267 issued Jul. 14, 1992 to Nicholls, discloses an on-line product sampling apparatus for measuring product samples from a product stream in a flow line having a sampling aperture. The apparatus includes a sampling tube which contains product samples that a piston removes from the flow line via the aperture. The piston cycles through a sample-return cycle, during which it removes a product sample from the product stream and then returns it to the product stream. The sampler is provided with a sensor for sensing physical properties of the removed product samples during the time they are held within the sample tube and during the piston cycle.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,495 issued Oct. 12, 1993 to Kuhner, discloses a closed loop sampling system using quick-connects. The system dramatically reduces emission of sampled hydrocarbons and other fluids to the external atmosphere.
As is readily apparent from the various Patents mentioned above, sampling devices and the like, such as those described in these Patents, are relatively complex in structure and, while they generally achieve the objects for which they were developed, in a satisfactory manner, there still exists a need for sampling devices and systems which are simple in structure, while still acting in a manner to provide high containment of any materials being removed from a production line for purposes of sampling the same and preventing any substantial leakage or the like of any hazardous materials to the surrounding environment and thus preventing contamination of the environment, and operators of the production line. The present invention fulfills such needs.